Last Friday, two jet fighters attacked Battalion 6 of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), attached to Brigade 9, in Hpakant Township four times, destroying several buildings, including a hospital.
“The KIA was informed early about the attack so it could evacuate many of its soldiers. That is why only a few soldiers were killed in the airstrikes,” said a man close to the group, speaking on condition of anonymity. He said that in addition to the hospital, three canteens and a building where vehicles are normally parked were also hit.
Battalion 6 moved from Gansi village (also called Kansi) to its new camp late last year, and this was the first airstrike with jet fighters on the group’s new location.
Regime jet fighters attacked the group in A Nang Pa village near Gansi, on 23 October, killing scores of senior officers and civilians in the country’s most brutal air strike to date.
According to a KNG news source affiliated with the KIA, the regime has flown at least six airstrikes this year against Battalions 26 and 6, both part of Brigade 9 in the township. Locals report that the military is attacking the battalions after they carried out numerous attacks on their camps in the Sel Zin area and other areas, as both sides seek to control the region.
